#givingtuesday quickly takes over on social media

A world record could be in the offing again if the trend for online giving continues

Today is #givingtuesday, and charities and individuals have turned to social media to encourage people to donate to the sector on what has become one of the biggest days for charitable giving.

Coordinated in the UK by the Charities Aid Foundation, #givingtuesday is "a global day of action aimed at getting people thinking about others during Christmas". CAF says that in 2015 and 2016 #givingtuesday broke the Guinness World Record for the most amount of money donated to charity online in 24 hours, with more than 4.5 million people doing something for charity on the day.

This year could prove to be even bigger if the trend for online giving continues. According to the Charitable Giving Report from Blackbaud in February, online giving grew by 7.9 per cent in 2016, compared with a 1 per cent growth in overall giving. Online donations, it said, represented 7.2 per cent of all fundraising in 2016, while #givingTuesday donations rose by 20 per cent, with 22 per cent of them donated by mobile phone.

Charities have been quick to spread the message on social media with both serious and humorous messages as #givingtuesday became the number one trending hashtag in the UK:

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